{"id":1356,"date":"2011-05-09T17:36:38","date_gmt":"2011-05-09T07:36:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/?p=1356"},"modified":"2011-05-17T18:26:18","modified_gmt":"2011-05-17T08:26:18","slug":"music-and-stories-from-the-pratten-sisters-and-fresh-peppercorns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/?p=1356","title":{"rendered":"music and stories from the Pratten sisters, and fresh peppercorns"},"content":{"rendered":"

on air on bayfm99.9 on May 9, 2011<\/strong><\/p>\n

This was a 4 – sister belly: sister T and sister B with 2 of the 3 Pratten sisters, now Joan Ajala and Ruth MacIntosh, but once girls growing up in Lismore, just before and after WW2, with their other sister and 3 brothers.\u00a0 Joan and Ruth told us great stories about the beautiful fish their father caught when they stayed at the family beach house in Brunswick Heads, the mud crabs from the river (who tried to climb out of the pot – no fridge or freezer in those days to put them to sleep), the fruit and veg man who came along with his horse and cart, the oysters bought by the hessian sackful.\u00a0 Mmmm.\u00a0 And mum’s tea parties, with song performances and proper ladies with proper manners, as the girls giggled under the house.\u00a0 And a little espionage when one woman would not divulge her wonderful teacake recipe.\u00a0 Then mother in law’s ever expandable recipes, like the popular Swedish meatballs.\u00a0 They had a clever signal.\u00a0\u00a0 When one of the 7 kids brought home an extra mouth to feed, he or she would loudly call hello from the garden gate and a little extra was in the pot by the time they got inside. And thanks to sister Robert, who regularly listens to belly on www.bayfm.org <\/a>from Sydney, for explaining that their regular childhood breakfast of home smoked fish and rice is the colonial English classic “kedgeree”.
\nNow Ruth has put all the recipes from her mother and aunt (another great cook), and mother in law, from scruffy bits of paper onto a digital cookbook.\u00a0 Her own recipes and experiments end up there too, and she has shared a few with the belly listeners.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Kedgeree-photo by justinc<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

BELLY BULLETIN<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Djanbung Gardens, Nimbin<\/strong><\/p>\n

Would you like to grow your own taro, make cassava flour or process arrowroot? It is harvest time again at Djanbung Gardens near Nimbin, where there is a diverse range of subtropical vegetables, making self-reliance so much easier in our culture. Starting this week, so be quick, Permaculture College Australia will\u00a0 host a series of short courses at Djanbung Gardens . They will teach all aspects of planning, growing, harvesting, storing and preserving your own food for year-round abundance from the garden. For more information please contact the office on 6689 1755 or visit http:\/\/permaculture.com.au<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sustainable Agriculture forums<\/strong><\/p>\n

The free forums held last week were very good and informative.\u00a0 More about them on belly soon or see
\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.northernriversfoodlinks.com.au\/sustainable-agriculture-projects\/<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RUTH’S RECIPES<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

DIP: BASIL PESTO DIP <\/span><\/strong>(delicious!)<\/p>\n

Place in food processor 1 cup fresh basil leaves, 1\/4 cup each pine nuts (lightly toasted), parmesan cheese, olive oil, Greek yoghurt & mayonnaise, 1 tbsp garlic, salt & pepper. Process until mixed. Thickens in fridge.<\/p>\n

NOTE: quantities are approximate \u2013 vary and check taste \u2013 probably fine in a blender.<\/p>\n

Excellent made with frozen basil \u2013 food process fresh basil with oil and freeze in small containers \u2013 fresh dip in the depths of winter!<\/p>\n

DIP: OLIVE DIP<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

1\/2 small bottle of pitted green or black olives<\/p>\n

1\/4 cup good quality mayonnaise<\/p>\n

small quantity of Greek yoghurt (too much makes the dip yummy but runny)<\/p>\n

Process in food processor until mixed. Don\u2019t over-process or olives pieces will be too small.<\/p>\n

NOTE: a variety of ingredients can be used in place of olives \u2013 a blender is probably just as effective<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

BASIL <\/strong><\/span>\u2013 how to enjoy basil fresh from the garden all year round!<\/p>\n

Pick basil and place in food processor. Process, adding enough olive oil to ensure that all the basil is coated (this preserves the rich colour). Freeze in small containers. During the depths of winter use to make all your favourite pesto recipes, or to flavour soups and casseroles.\u00a0 It will taste as wonderful as it did when you harvested it!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

BEEF: SWEDISH MEATBALLS <\/span><\/strong>\u2013 absolutely scrumptious<\/p>\n

A great meal for visitors which they all seem to enjoy \u2013 the family always love the leftovers<\/p>\n

750g low fat mince (500gr mince + 250gr sausage mince)
\n1 1\/2\u00a0 cups soft bread, 1\/2 cup light sour cream, 1\/4 cup milk
\n1\/2 cup chopped onion
\n1 teas salt, 1 tables butter, pinch ginger, pepper, nutmeg, 1\/4 cup chopped parsley
\n1 tables butter
\n1 egg<\/p>\n

Soak breadcrumbs in cream & milk – cook onion in butter till tender NOT brown
\nCombine meat, crumbs, egg, onion, parsley & seasonings, beat until fluffy, chill and form into balls.
\nBrown in butter \u2013 half cook (in electric frypan setting 7-8).<\/p>\n

Sauce
\n1 can tomatoes
\n1-2 sticks chopped celery
\n1pkt Maggi Spring Vegetable Soup
\n1 shredded carrot<\/p>\n

Remove meatballs from pan – add soup and about 2 cups of water.
\nIn casserole, layer meatballs and other vegetables, pour sauce over.
\nBake in moderate oven for 45min \u2013 1 hour – serve over spaghetti or cous cous, with salad and garlic bread.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CAKE: CHOCOLATE CAKE – FLOURLESS<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

[We did not talk about this on the show, but the world always needs more chocolate cake recipes – and I am doing my best to be adopted as a Pratten sister so we can share the teacake recipe]<\/p>\n

110g dark chocolate
\n110g unsalted butter<\/p>\n

Melt in microwave and cool<\/p>\n

1\/2 cup castor sugar
\n4 eggs, separated
\n1 packed cup almond meal (110g)<\/p>\n

Combine all ingredients except egg whites and mix wel.l
\nWhip egg whites until soft peaks form; fold in gently.
\nPlace in 20cm greased, lined springform tin; bake at 190\u00baC for 35-40 mins (170\u00baC fan-forced).
\nCool in tin; run knife around edge; slide onto plate; dust with sifted icing sugar.<\/p>\n

Delicious served with a coulis made from frozen berries simmered with a little sugar \u2013 mash or blend.<\/p>\n

Ruth does really good roasts too, she has promised to come back to belly with her top roast tips on her next trip to visit Joan.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FRESH PEPPER – GREEN, BLACK, WHITE AND RED <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

green pepper taken by the photographer, Devadaskrishnan at his farm in Kerala.<\/p><\/div>\n

Pepper is native to Kerala, southern India and is extensively cultivated there and\u00a0 in other tropical regions. Currently Vietnam is by far the world’s largest producer and exporter of pepper, producing about a third of the world’s Piper nigrum.\u00a0 There’s one commercial large pepper farm in Australia, in north Queensland, near Innisfail, that supplies many of our top restaurants. According to the Innisfail pepper grower, “The imported stuff does lose some of the volatile oils, as it has to be steam-sterilised to get it into Australia,\u2019\u2019 But you can now get fresh pepper at Byron and New Brighton farmers markets, locally grown, so you may want to try your luck growing it too.\u00a0 It’s only available for another month.\u00a0 Or do taste it, really interesting, and the flavours change as it ripens week by week.\u00a0 A little like the picked green, minus the strong vinegar taste of course.<\/p>\n

The pepper plant is a perennial woody vine growing to four metres in height on supporting trees, poles, or trellises. It\u00a0 roots readily where trailing stems touch the ground.
\nTo grow – from seed or cutting, 3-4 years to fruit
\n– on strong trellis, full sun, mulched (roots like staying cool)
\n– plenty of food and water
\nIn the wild, pepper flowers are pollinated by rain, so it’s important to irrigate plants so the water flows over them.\u00a0 Or wait a few minutes for the rain to start, if you live in the Northern Rivers.
\nBerries that are picked when they’re fat and green can be dried to make black pepper. If you allow the berries to mature and turn red, then peel them to reveal the seed, you’ll get white pepper.<\/p>\n

Fresh pepper is very popular in Thai cooking, so try adding it to your favourite red or green curry, or use in a stir fry or Thai salad.<\/p>\n

PEPPER SQUID<\/strong><\/span> – adapted from www.thai menu.net<\/p>\n

Serves 4<\/p>\n

In a bowl combine 500 g cleaned squid , 2 tablespoons of oil\u00a0 and 1 tablespoon of
\nroughly crushed green peppercorns; allow to stand for 15 minutes.<\/p>\n

Heat a large wok or heavy based frying pan until very hot. Add 2 teaspoons of oil from the marinating squid. Add 4 chopped cloves of garlic and 1 teaspoon of chopped red chillies to the pan and cook for 5 seconds.
\nAdd squid to the pan in batches and stir-fry, tossing constantly, for 2 minutes each batch. Transfer each batch to a plate.
\nReheat wok between each batch. Add 2 tablespoons of fish sauce and 2 teaspoons of soy sauce to wok. When it is bubbling, pour it over the squid and serve immediately, garnished with 1\/2 cup of fresh basil leaves.
\nAccompany with rice.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MUSIC<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Today all the music on belly was chosen by Joan Ajala<\/a>, aka the middle Pratten sister. \u00a0Joan shared some of the music she has come to love in her many years as a music teacher.<\/p>\n

Give me the simple life, sung by Sharny Russell, with George Galla on guitar, from “Velvet Jazz”
\nAllegro from Vivaldi’s concerto in C, Genevieve Lacey on recorder with the Australian Brandeburg Orchestra, from : “Vivaldi – il flauto dolce”
\nVa tacito e nascosto Cesare, from the opera ‘Julius Caesar’, by Handel, sung by Margreta Elkins
\nConcerto for flautino in C major RV443, Largo, by Antonio Vivaldi
\nGavotta, allegro, from Arcangelo Corelli’s Concerto for flauto no.10 in F major, Maurice Steger , from the CD “Mr Corelli in London”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

let us know if you enjoyed Joan’s music as much as we did!<\/p>\n

Love and peppered chocolate, and remember we’d love to hear your food stories too, call bayfm on 6680 7999, or email belly at belly dot net dot au, or comment below<\/p>\n

sister T<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

on air on bayfm99.9 on May 9, 2011 This was a 4 – sister belly: sister T and sister B with 2 of the 3 Pratten sisters, now Joan Ajala and Ruth MacIntosh, but once girls growing up in Lismore, just before and after WW2, with their other sister and 3 brothers.\u00a0 Joan and Ruth […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[196,194,192,195,144,124,191,190,193],"class_list":["post-1356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-radio-show-posts","tag-basil","tag-chocolate-cake","tag-dips","tag-meatballs","tag-mince","tag-olives","tag-pepper","tag-peppercorns","tag-squid"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1356"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1359,"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1356\/revisions\/1359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.belly.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}